Thankfully, I’ve been able to leave a small backpack in this little lobby this entire time, allowing me to use what little medical supplies I brought with me and store the gold coins I just got.

  But now I’m all out of medics, and I’m hoping the next time I’m back in this lobby, it’s after I’ve conquered battle number 50. At that point we’ll see what the reward for that is, and if it’s enough to tip the balance in my favor, I will leave, meet back up with my family, and then begin the resistance in full.

  Then, after who knows how many hours, it was time. It was finally time. I made sure to get the maximum amount of rest against that damn crab before I beat it to pulp after faking being dead once again, and from there, since I obviously knew what to expect, it was mostly smooth sailing.

  Now I’m ready.

  Well, you can only be ready if you have a good understanding of what’s coming next, I guess, and it turns out I didn’t. Instead of a beast of significant strength appearing in the arena like all 49 beasts before it had done, I was the one who was teleported, and I found myself in water.

  A whole lot of water.

  Thankfully, when it comes to water, it is actually more of a place of safety for me these days, so while I was caught off guard by the sudden teleportation and the fact that I reappeared in what looked to be an ocean, it wasn’t the worst thing.

  In fact, no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t see anything else for miles except for water, but I like water anyway.

  Nothing happened for a few moments as I just floated there while I constantly scanned for where this enemy was supposed to be, and then words flashed across my face.

  Battle 50 – Newborn Leviathan

  I paused as the implications of what I just read settled within my mind. Newborn Leviathan. I was supposed to fight a newborn, but of course I’m not an idiot. The warning clearly stated I’d be fighting something not necessarily E grade but not quite F either, essentially a Demi E Grade beast. That is my opponent, and I had no doubts that the dungeon didn’t lie to me about whether that was true.

  So the fact that it was a newborn only made me think about what they are as a species. If just a newborn comes into this world and on their first day ever they are Demi E, then what the hell are they as full grown adults?

  But I didn’t get a chance to elaborate on that any further because a roar that shook my entire being sounded in the distance, and when I looked toward it, I saw something that made me not only excited but fucking scared. T

  he head of a massive creature, covered in ocean blue scales that seemed to reflect the light so well that the air around it almost shimmered with a gleam off its scales. If I was to dream of a powerful serpent that dominated the seas, it would be this creature.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  And looking at its roaring figure, I now knew exactly what best my skill was based off of, and that’s the part that scared me. It was miles away, but its roar alone shook me, and then it dove back under the water.

  I dove under too, and even though it was far, it was so damn big that I could see its figure quite clearly. It was massive, easily well over 200 feet in length, and as it swam closer and closer I could begin to feel the vibrations through the water. It was like a massive building had just fallen into the water next to me. That’s how much water it was displacing just by swimming, and it was coming toward me.

  Fuck.

  I probably had no more than five minutes before it reached me. I needed to think of a plan and quickly.

  So the first thing I did was take a deep breath, calm my mind, and think. It was only after doing that that I finally realized something… I was overflowing with energy. I quite literally felt empowered. I don’t know if it was one of my Traits or a skill, but I felt empowered in this water.

  And just based on how I felt, I think I’d be able to fight for quite a long time in this water. Good. What else? I no longer have Surging Step, so I doubt I’ll be able to swim faster than this massive creature moving toward me, so it’s not worth trying.

  Next, I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive an encounter so close that I’m able to use my spear to try to attack it, so at least to start, ranged attacks will be a priority.

  While I’ve never tried to use Water Bullets while submerged before, I have a feeling it’ll be fine, if not better, than how it performed above ground. The only problem will be mana, and I can only hope this energy I feel will continue to sustain the use of such extravagant skills for a significant period of time. And when an opportunity presents itself, try to hit it with an Ocean’s Maw.

  Maybe since it’s a newborn, seeing a skill that looks like it might throw it off, or not who knows? Whatever the case, I have a plan. Don’t bother trying to run; you’ll just waste energy and set yourself up to be caught.

  Bombard it with water bullets for as long as you can and then hit it with an Ocean’s Maw when an opportunity presents itself.

  Yep, I think that’s the best I can come up with for the situation.

  So, with a calm mind and a body overflowing with energy, I watched the approach of the magnificent beast get closer and closer to me. Then, once it reached the point of essentially no return, I quickly surfaced to refill my air so I’d be at the top end for the upcoming battle and dove down once again. When I did, the Leviathan was here.

  There was no roar or shout or any flashy skill moving about. All I saw was the wide open maw that I’ve seen so many times in the form of water, ready to clamp down on my body in its entirety. It was as magnificent as it was terrifying.

  Holy shit.

  But there was no time to gape in awe at the sight before me.

  So I had a decision to make…do my best to get out of the way, then try to attack its sides, or, and this is what I actually chose to do, hit it with some water bullets.

  Of course I could’ve used Ocean’s Maw as my opening attack, but it is my strongest ability right now, and I don’t think it’ll be enough to really damage the creature before me in the way I would like it to. Plus there’s also a chance that it will mess with its mental state when it sees a skill that resembles its own kind.

  Whether that increases its anger and makes it act brashly in its movements going forward, or it makes it meek and mellow, giving me more room to attack, whatever the case, I decided I needed to save it for the most impact possible.

  Thus my Water Bullet skill is the choice.

  Now, in the back of my mind, there was another problem at hand, one that I didn’t have an answer for, which is why I didn’t give it too much thought. What if this creature was impervious to all water related attacks? If that was the case, well, I’d be properly fucked.

  So let’s not think about it too much.